Dr.
Robert Agnew (shown above sitting atop
an ancient Mayan observatory in
Contemplation,
Patience and the Night Sky
You’ve bought a telescope, pulled it out of the closet on a
nice, warm, clear
night, and pointed it toward a bright star. You were lucky, for the
star
happened to be a planet, with rings no less: Saturn. What a view!
Excited, you
point the telescope toward a star, and are frustrated because
it’s only a
pinpoint. Checking the guide that came with your telescope, you are
able to
locate a few more objects. After an hour or two you are done, and the
telescope
goes back in the closet - for a long, long time.
So
why
do some amateur astronomers go out almost every clear night? One reason
is that
there really is a lot to see, and a good guide to the night sky can
keep one
busy for months if not years. But the other reason is the most
rewarding: the
longer you examine an object, the more detail you are able to see. This
is an
acquired gift; requiring much patience from the observer, but the
rewards are
truly great.
I
spent five hours observing the Horsehead Nebula in the constellation
Orion. It
took only a few seconds to see that this illusive object was there, but
a lot
of careful study to bring out the richness of detail that make the
Horsehead,
and the area around it, a marvelous viewing object. The only reason I
had to stop
was that the light of dawn intervened.
Through
an amateur telescope, you will not see the vividness and colorful
detail of
photographs taken from large, professional telescopes, but through
careful
observation, you can make the object your own. No one else in the
universe will
have seen the object as you did, through your eyes and your telescope.
No one!
Why,
we must ask, is it so difficult to make an extended observation? Part
of the
problem is the speed of today’s society. Movies made in the
1930s and 1940s
moved a lot slower than your typical movie today. They required some
philosophical thought and attention to the establishment of character
rather
than fast action sequences. We can, however, regain this lost art.
Astronomy is
a good way to relearn patience and contemplation. If you can meditate
on the
intricacy of the heavens, it is not so hard to extend that patience to
children
and significant others.
Through long, careful observation, detail on the planets, like the red
spot on
Jupiter or the ice caps of Mars, become visible. Some objects, like
close
double stars and nebula, may require extended viewing even to be seen.
Also,
the Earth’s atmosphere has waves of turbulence followed by
brief intervals of
calm. Those rare, calm moments will enable the observer to see things
that
would otherwise be swallowed in the turbulence.
If
you truly want to observe the night sky, and get the most out of that
telescope
gathering dust in the closet, educate yourself about the planets,
stars, double
stars, galaxies, nebulae, clusters, and other objects that are out
there, then
take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the pervading beauty of the
heavens.
©
Article & image Dr. Robert
Agnew 2008/2009